Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Tests show Milosevic took wrong drugs before death

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Blood tests showed Slobodan Milosevic took drugs to worsen his health and bolster his case for treatment in Russia, a Dutch medical expert said on Monday.Groningen University toxicologist Donald Uges was speaking to Reuters as the Yugoslav ex-president's body was due to be released to his family.

A preliminary autopsy report on Sunday showed the 64-year-old Milosevic died of a heart attack, but toxicology tests were still ongoing to establish its cause.

Uges said tests he conducted two weeks ago on Milosevic's blood showed traces of rifampicin — a drug against leprosy and tuberculosis that would have made other medicines ineffective."I don't think he took his medicines for suicide — only for his trip to Moscow … that is where his friends and family are. I think that was his last possibility to escape the Hague," Uges said. "I am so sure there is no murder."

Last month, the tribunal rejected a request by Milosevic — branded the "Butcher of the Balkans" over the conflicts in the 1990s — to go to Moscow for specialist medical care. His widow, brother and son all live in Russia. A verdict was expected in months.Milosevic's lawyer said the funeral was to be held in Belgrade and that Milosevic's son Marko would pick up the body on Monday or Tuesday. Milosevic's widow faces arrest if she returns to Serbia.

The autopsy on the body of Milosevic, who suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure, was conducted by Dutch scientists and attended by Serbian pathologists. Serbia said the autopsy was very professional. The whole procedure was filmed.......(continued)